How should I mic a 4x12 Rectifier Straight cab?

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DTFAN4EVER

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I've got me my very first 4x12 and I'm very new to micing something like this. I've mic'ed combos before, but for some reason I feel quite lost with this beast.

I have a 4x12 Rectifier Straight cab and my mics are a 57 and 421.

Pictures would help if anyone has some.

Thanks!
 
It's not hard for the most part. Maybe the toughest thing is finding somebody you trust who can play like you do to plunk some chords and such while you do the listening.

If you can, have your stand-in play some things, nothing too busy, while you listen to which of the four speakers sounds the best to you. Yes, they do all sound slightly different.

If you're not that picky, then set up your cab on an absorptive surface such as carpet, set up all the baffling you're going to use (if any) such as acoustic cells, blankets, moving pads, etc., and check all your connections. Set up the 57 in front of one of the speakers 1 to 1 & 1/2 inches out from the center of the cone. Start with it pointing straight in at a perpendicular 90 degrees and give the tone a try. If you like, experiment with the angling of the mic at that position, listening to the tone after every tiny adjustment, to find your phase coloration preference. That's it.

Now mirror that same procedure with the 421 and either a) see which you like best, b) record a track with each of them separately, or c) record a track with both of them simultaneously. With the last option, you have to be careful to avoid phase cancellation issues, so you may need to listen to the recorded track and go back and experiment further with placement if you experience problems.
 
Thanks Chris.

I'll have to try to figure out how I will do this. It's gonna be time consuming though as I don't have any friends who play like me.

Regarding the mic placement, you said 1 to 1.5 inches from the cone - in which direction? Up, down left or right from the cone?

I now understand why people use Line 6 products - LOL - but I wouldn't trade the huge tone I get from my rig for digital. Not until the digital stuff catches up and becomes analog sounding.
 
DTFAN4EVER said:
I'll have to try to figure out how I will do this. It's gonna be time consuming though as I don't have any friends who play like me.
You could do what I did when working by myself: record a take, move the mic a centimeter, record another take, repeat a dozen times... takes a long time, but it's easier to compare what the various positions sound like this way. It will take longer with 2 mics, obviously (I usually only use one), as the number of possible mic positions relative to each other will be much greater.

DTFAN4EVER said:
Regarding the mic placement, you said 1 to 1.5 inches from the cone - in which direction? Up, down left or right from the cone?
Generally this means out from the cone center, not right or left specifically. Chris gave lots of good advice on mic placement.

DTFAN4EVER said:
I now understand why people use Line 6 products - LOL - but I wouldn't trade the huge tone I get from my rig for digital. Not until the digital stuff catches up and becomes analog sounding.
IMO one unit has: the Axe-Fx. It can sound as analog as you like... and ease of recording (vs. pain of mic'ing cabs and playing loud) is a large part of why I got it. However, I'm glad I spent the time to learn how to mic an amp + cab properly, as it really helped train my "studio ears".
 

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